The theme for World Food Day is “Leave No One Behind.”
“We need to build a sustainable world where everyone, everywhere has regular access to enough nutritious food. No one should be left behind,” the U.N. Food Agriculture Organization stated.
There are steps you can take today to ensure that those in need have food to survive.
see my full commentary at Newsweek
Filed under global hunger
The G7 summit this weekend in the United Kingdom must not only tackle a global pandemic, but also famine. Both crises impact the other. Severe food shortages are threatening many nations and the G7 must take action to help.
President Joe Biden will need to show leadership at the summit, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.
The United Nations is warning that more than 34 million people are one step away from starvation. And millions more are on the brink. Yemen, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, the Sahel region of Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar and Ethiopia are some of the regions suffering extreme hunger.
See my full commentary at Newsweek Magazine
Filed under global hunger
One of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dreams was a world free from hunger, which is vital for achieving equality among all peoples. We can celebrate Martin Luther King Day by joining his quest to end hunger at home and abroad.
As Dr. King proclaimed in his Nobel Peace Prize speech, “I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.”
Filed under global hunger, Uncategorized
Just eight days before the Nov. 11, 1918 Armistice ending World War I, my great uncle, Ira Pitzer, was killed during battle in France. His mother was overcome with grief for the rest of her life, a tragedy shared by so many families who have served in the military.
Veterans Day is to honor the service and sacrifice of the men and women in the armed forces. But Veterans Day also should mean something more, an inspiration to win a lasting peace.
As President Dwight Eisenhower once proclaimed on Veterans Day: “Let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.”
See my full commentary in the Des Moines Register:
Filed under peace, Uncategorized
There is some inspirational news to share as we close out 2014. During Thanksgiving week, I wrote about Lauren Hill and Natalia Marsh-Welton, two heroes who battled brain cancer this year.
Read the full article at The Huffington Post.
Filed under Hunger in America
Eleven year-old Natalia Marsh-Welton had a mission. Not even terminal brain cancer was going to stop her.
Read the full article at Examiner.
Filed under Hunger in America
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) today announced timely donations from the governments of Finland, Italy and Saudi Arabia. With the most refugees worldwide since World War II, hunger is fast escalating.
Read the article at Examiner.
Filed under global hunger
Announcing the opening of the Fight Hunger Together initiative at Walmart are Feeding America president Vickie Escarra (left) and Kimberly Williams Paisley, an actress and award winning director of the film Shade. Photo credit: Feeding America
Some of the largest companies are teaming together to fight hunger in America, at a time of the year when it’s needed most.
Walmart last week announced its Fighting Hunger Together Campaign to make sure foodbanks have enough supplies to last during the spring and summer months. The foodbanks come to the aid of the 49 million Americans who suffer from food insecurity and struggle to get food on the table. General Mills, ConAgra Foods, Kraft Foods and Kellogg Company are joining the hunger relief effort which was announced last week in Nashville, Tennessee.
Walmart says customers can help the hungry when they shop. A press release said signs in the Walmart locations will point customers to products which will have “on-package labels that will “advise customers how to generate meals by entering product codes online, sharing a hashtag on Twitter or scanning a QR code.” Walmart says the campaign is expected to produce 42 million meals.
You can also take part in the campaign by visiting the Walmart facebook page and voting for a community to win a million dollars.
The most important impact of the campaign though will be the awareness it raises about hunger in America. For at this time of the year donations to foodbanks are often reduced and this is especially a cause for alarm with unemployment rates high and potential budget cuts to food assistance programs in Congress.
Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America, says, “No one in America should go hungry and we are proud to partner with Walmart in this effort. Through this program, Walmart and its partners are making a powerful impact that will not only address hunger this spring, but will have a lasting effect on the issue of hunger in America.”
The foodbanks across America are facing pressing needs. Lisa Hamler-Fugitt of the Ohio Second Harvest Foodbanks says,”families are stretched to the breaking point and the agencies that serve them are praying for a miracle.”
Donations though are not as robust as during the holidays months. Jennifer Small of the Maryland Food Bank says, “Typically donations are slower the January to September time period.”
Anna Hogan of the Cincinnati Freestore Foodbank says, “right now is typically the time period when donations are a bit less likely…. most donations come in during the holidays, and there is typically a drop off during the Spring and Summer.
The Freestore is holding a Hunger Walk next month to help build up food supplies.
Aside from immediate supply shortages, the biggest problem facing the fight against hunger is awareness. There is enough food in the country but funding cuts or not enough involvement from government, the public or companies leaves those fighting hunger without enough resources to do the job.
There is strength in numbers. The more people become aware and get involved the more likely hunger can be ended in America.
Article first published as Teaming up to Defeat Hunger in America on Blogcritics.
Filed under Hunger in America
Author William Lambers 